No Charges over Shooting in Fallujah Mosque

The U.S. Marine Corps announced on Wednesday May 4 that a Marine corporal filmed shooting a wounded and unarmed man in a mosque in Fallujah last November would not be charged in connection with the incident.  In a statement, Maj. Gen. Richard F. Natonski said that an investigation including a review of the videotape of the shooting had determined that the Marine's action "was consistent with the established rules of engagement and the law of armed conflict."

According to press reports, General Natonski said that the Marine corporal involved in the shooting could reasonably have assumed that the wounded Iraqi posed a threat.  The general said that the tape showed the Iraqi fighter's left arm was concealed behind his head, and that feigning death or serious injury was a common tactic among insurgents who would then continue to fight.

As discussed in this earlier article, the laws of armed conflict require that enemy fighters who are clearly incapacitated must not be attacked -- but they do allow force to be used if there is a possibility that the enemy fighter is still able to launch an attack.

Related chapters from Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know:

Hors de Combat

Related Links:

Review Clears Marine Who Was Filmed Killing Iraqi Insurgent

By Tony Perry

Los Angeles Times, May 5, 2005

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